Niobium oxychloride is the inorganic compound

Inorganic compound

Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...

 with the formula NbOCl₃. It is a white, crystalline, diamagnetic solid

Solid

Solid is one of the three classical states of matter . It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a...

. It is often found as an impurity in samples of niobium pentachloride, a common reagent in niobium chemistry.

Structure and synthesis

Niobium oxychloride adopts a distorted octahedral structure. The Nb-O bonds and Nb-Cl bonds are unequal. This structure can be described as planar Nb₂Cl₆ core connected by O-Nb-O bridges. In this way, the structure consists of a double stranded chain.

Niobium oxychloride is prepared by the reaction of niobium pentoxide

Niobium pentoxide

Niobium pentoxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Nb2O5. It is a colourless insoluble solid that is fairly unreactive. It is the main precursor to all materials made of niobium, the dominant application being alloys, but other specialized applications include capacitors, lithium niobate,...

 with carbon tetrachloride

Carbon tetrachloride

Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names is the organic compound with the formula CCl4. It was formerly widely used in fire extinguishers, as a precursor to refrigerants, and as a cleaning agent...

:

Nb₂O₅ + 1.5 CCl₄ → 2 NbOCl₃ + 1.5 CO₂